French indie-pop artist Charly Gee left France to start a new chapter of her career in Los Angeles, and decided to change her stage name to Charli. Her warm and suave voice is influenced by Tessa Violet, Tory Kelly and Dua Lipa.
Charli dropped three previous singles, “I Love Me”, “Lovey Dovey” and “N2”, which have amassed over 120K+ streams on Spotify, as well as her latest EP entitled Pre-EP which has garnished media from the likes of Atwood, Earmilk, Popwrapped to name a few. Charli’s recent short film, The Time Left has received several awards and nominations such as “Best Actress” and “Best Musical Film” at Silk Road Festival (Cannes), “Best Original Song” at Indie Short Festival (Los Angeles), Finalist at Cannes World Film Festival(Cannes), and Finalist at Oniros Film Award (New York).
Who is Charli?
Wow. If I gave you the whole story then it would be super long! Long story short, when I arrived in LA I wanted to try something different. I was in a duet in France and basically, I never had the opportunity to be fully myself (when you are in a duet it’s normal to compromise)! Today, I explore all my capacities to express myself and it feels amazing- I did a movie, 7 songs in a year, and I paint – I’m a different person
What it is like to be a musician?
Really intense. I’m really sensitive and being an independent artist is hard! I’m facing my doubts every day and in life, and it’s not always easy to be 100% confident.
You have to do this career by passion and only by passion. My high moments are super high, and at these moments I feel like I’m the queen of the world,
but the lows are really low… I can’t even count how many times I wanted to quit and do something else, some easier and less hurtful, but it’s in my blood and I can’t stop!
Who are your all time musical influences?
This question is super hard for me because I love a lot of people in this industry! I would say, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Pink, Miley Cyrus, Anastasia, Alicia Keys – all these women are models and inspirations. And I just named the women inspirations… Lol!
How do you keep yourself inspired?
I think that you have to be open-minded, be curious, and attentive to the world. I write about what happened to me and also what happens to others, what touches me, etc …
I’m writing because I have something to say and I give my opinion on things.
Who are you binge listening to today?
As I said, I’m a huge fan of a lot of artists! But recently, I fell in love with several ones and I really like what Charlotte Cardin has to offer! I also really love the song ” Tangerine ” by Glass Animals …love them!
Favorite TV show or movie?
TV show: How I Met Your Mother!
Movie: I just watched yesterday ” Cruella ” it’s a masterpiece!
Tell us about “BOYS”
My last release is “BOYS.” It’s about a true story…
I was on a date with a guy and he was constantly trying to mock himself and the fact that I even accepted a date with him in the first place.
At first, it was super annoying and then it made me sad for him because I realized how uncomfortable with himself he was. That’s broke my heart!
So I did this song to help men who also have a complex to just go with it and love themselves as they are!
Do you ever find yourself dealing with creative blocks? How do you overcome that?
When I don’t have any more creativity I just stop working for a bit. It never helps me to push and keep trying because most of the time I’m not happy and the result is bad.
If I don’t have inspiration I prefer to stop for the day, deal with other things, and try again the next morning.
What is your future looking like?
I DON’T KNOW! lol! Hope it’s bright and happy, but I don’t really want to know where I’ll be in 10 years. Of course, I have my little (BIG) bucket list with me and my deadlines to go through projects that I want to do, but I realized lately that even if you try to organize your future, life is unpredictable, so I prefer to love every moment in time!
I just hope that I will find the love of my life and why not, a little baby 🙂
Any style or fashion icons or favorite eras?
I love the 60’s to 90’s! I know it’s a lot of years … but I love everything that’s colorful and happy.
Fashion, design, and visual creativity are one of my favorite games in my life. I love to try different combinations and see what I look like after!
That’s just fun!
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why
I think it’s my movie for a lot of reasons:
It’s my first movie. Everything was written by me and the idea was mine as well as the song. It’s my little baby and I’m really proud!
I had a great team with me and it was during the pandemic which was not easy! I hope in the future that I will have the chance to do some others … fingers crossed.
What do you think is the best way to make it as an artist nowadays?
Artist is not a job, it’s who you are! You can’t decide to be an artist – it’s in you. If you are creative and you do art, you are an artist!
If the question is what makes you famous or not I have no clue! lol Just do your art and you’ll be seen at one point.
What would you change in the music and entertainment industry especially after this past year?
After this past year, I just want to go back on stage! But there are a lot of changes in the music industry that kills the industry for me …
Streaming is one of them, but at the same time, it’s a great opportunity to know a lot of people!
It’s a super complex question and I would love to discuss more with you about this at some point.
